PHOENIX (Dispatches) – A wave of heat is not loosening its grip on the globe.
Phoenix has broken its own streak of blistering hot days, while southern Europeans and millions of people on vacation there broiled under near-record temperatures, and parts of the Middle East tested the limits of what the human body is capable of enduring.
Parts of southern Europe have also gone up in flames, with wildfires raging in Greece that forced evacuations and highway closures this week. People returned to their homes on Tuesday when a fire finally receded, after they had spent the night on beaches, in hotels and in public facilities.
The heat is expected to worsen again over the next few days.
People around the world have been seeking shade and water for respite, including in Lebanon, Spain and Turkey, where even those used to high temperatures felt an unusually sweltering summer.
This June was the hottest on record, and July is expected to be even hotter. The world has been in uncharted hot territory for most of the month, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.
Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing the world to warm, with the Earth’s average temperature about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-industrial times. That is causing more record-breaking heat and extreme weather events around the world.
Climate change has caused flash floods in different parts of the world as well.
A provincewide state of emergency was declared in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Saturday in response to severe flooding, authorities said.
The Nova Scotia Government’s Emergency Management Office said in a news release that the order is in place to protect the entire province as the storm progresses.
“This is a very serious event. This flooding has been fast and furious, and we are taking strong action to ensure Nova Scotians are protected,” said John Lohr, minister responsible for the Emergency Management Office.
Some areas in the province received up to 300 mm of rain in less than 24 hours since Friday afternoon. According to Environment Canada, some areas could expect an additional 75 to 150 mm of rain.